Chaos: Pride
by taralynden
Summary: Sequel to Chaos came with a bang. Sometimes Starscream's pride isn't at all good for him...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This fic is darker than Chaos, being on the Decepticon side and things are Not Happy over on the _Nemesis_. Mostly not graphic, but plenty of suggestion. Read cautiously.

A/N 2: Big thanks go to Gilded Orchid whose assistance means this was ready for today - and go read her Trinkets, it deserves more love!

Warning: dubious consent, abuse

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I make no profit from this

Chapter 1

* * *

One finger dragged deliberately along the Seeker's wing edge, teasing the sensitive nodes there, trying to wring another moan from him. Tired as he was, he clamped his jaw defiantly shut and kept silent. That garnered a low sound of approval from his tormentor and the finger was joined by a thumb that rubbed along the lower edge and made his spark ache as the sensations forced his systems to start heating again.

_Again_. Primus save him, this was the fifth time in this session. Warnings flashed up on his HUD pointing out things that he dared not acknowledge so he just dismissed them unread. Meanwhile, the hand reached the very tip of his wing, briefly cupping the joint tenderly and warming it, sensitising it... then abruptly clamping down savagely and wrenching it out of alignment.

The pain made him shriek and he jerked reflexively away only to collide with something solid. His tormentor was expecting the reaction and moved with him, still crushing the joint in one strong fist and simultaneously shoving a cable into the exposed input port just above his spark chamber. He could feel fluid streaming down his wing, tickling the sensors there, and his internal systems had begun to shut down in protest for the prolonged abuse. And then, in spite of his best efforts, his self-preservation programming took over and slammed up firewalls to protect him against the intrusion.

The response was immediate: back-handed hard so that he slammed against a wall and crumpled to the floor. Taunts followed about his weakness, his inability to control his own systems, but they barely registered. His processors had begun to stutter, blanking out randomly, leaving him with a fractured impression of what was happening: another vicious kick; a callous laugh; footsteps leaving; footsteps arriving; sharp pain as rough hands investigated his wounds, then Primus-blessed darkness as he finally went completely offline.

* * *

Skywarp was not on duty but was lurking in the command room when Starscream finally emerged from Megatron's office a full two groons after the warlord had left, and more than five breems since Soundwave had gone in and then left. In the reflection of a darkened monitor, he studied his trinemate's condition with an experienced optic. The Air Commander's wings were drooping with fatigue and pain, several new patches of temporary plating welded clumsily over sensitive points on his torso and helmet and even on one wing joint. This last made Skywarp wince slightly in sympathy but he continued his silent assessment. There was also a large dent in Starscream's left audial, pressing the armour uncomfortably into his cheek, but the mech seemed oblivious to it, as he staggered out without a word. He was a mess and everyone could see it, but no-one would say a word about it to his face. No-one ever did.

Sometimes it happened after a victory. They would all be getting overcharged on rare rations of high grade, and then Megatron would summon Starscream to his office for a debriefing. More often it happened after a defeat, when everyone was ducking for cover and trying not to call any attention to themselves. Occasionally it happened with no warning at all. What was clear, though, was that it was happening far more often now that they were stuck here on Earth on short rations and confined within this tiny, claustrophobic base.

Earlier in the orn, he and Thundercracker had been sunning themselves on a small island just south of the base. They could convert sunlight into energy and sunbathing did wonders for their frequently undercharged systems, so when the weather was fine and there were no missions on the go most of the Decepticon forces could be found dotted around the local atolls. It was probably not clever, but it was one of the few pleasures they had on this disgustingly dirty planet, and so far the stupid Autobots had not caught on to it.

What had made today unusual was Starscream deigning to join them. Usually he chose to be alone - in part to protect them, Skywarp knew - but he had actually been the one to suggest it today. It had been quiet for orns following two moderately successful missions and Megatron was due to be away for joors at some new project site with the Constructicons. Pleased, Skywarp had hauled out his paints and had touched up his wing leader's detailing, and even Thundercracker's perpetual gloom had been banished by the sunshine and and the uncommon satisfaction of being a full trine for once. And then Starscream had surprised them by returning the favour for each of them.

"What?" the red and white Seeker had demanded, delicately applying the black paint without getting the slightest smear on himself. "You think I'll put up with scruffy jets flying in _my_ trine?"

It was a very Starscream comment, but without the stinging sarcasm that so often characterised his speech nowadays. This was the Starscream of old: teasing but not cruelly; self-assured but not overbearing; confident but not supercilious; smugly superior but not arrogant to a fault. And then the call had come and a shadow had passed over his expression. And then he was gone.

Most of the Decepticon forces believed Megatron liked to tear his Air Commander apart as a hobby as much as for stress relief, and there was probably some truth to that. A few whispered snidely that the unscheduled meetings were also trysts, and they were not entirely wrong either. But there was something more, something worse, something that Starscream wouldn't talk about, so the details were left to Skywarp's imagination. Not that it was that hard to guess.

Time after time, Starscream returned from these beatings with injuries that were meant to humiliate as much as to hurt. Time after time, the formerly fearless trineleader woke screaming from his recharge. Gradually, Megatron was wearing him down into submission and yet Starscream refused to do anything about it. He wouldn't discuss it with his trine, and even seemed to welcome the abuse.

Only an orn earlier, Starscream had been left so overcharged that he blew fuses in his CPU and needed his trinemates to replace them; his pride would not permit him to show such injuries to Hook. Skywarp found himself wondering uneasily what would happen if the safeties ever failed to kick in and the stress blew out one of Starscream's processors altogether. Was that what Star was wanting? To escape that way? It was not a pleasant thought so he dismissed it as soon as it occurred to him, and refocused on the the image of his hobbling wingmate. Starscream was on his pedes, however unsteadily. Everything was normal.

* * *

"Hey TC! You down here?"

Thundercracker looked up but could see nothing over the junk pile he was half buried in so he just called back.

"Over here, Warp. Give me a hand?"

There was a pause, then Skywarp poked his head around the side of the pile.

"What've you found?"

Thundercracker subspaced the small bundle of CPU fuses he had located - the sight of them would only upset Skywarp - and nodded to a wide girder.

"Not sure yet. Lift there?"

This cargo hold had become the storeroom for all of Megatron's failed experiments. The Constructicons regularly raided it to build whatever project he wanted next, but since nothing was in any particular order and the parts tended to be mostly slagged anyway they quickly lost patience and just demanded new materials. Mechs with a little more tenacity could stock up with useable parts to bribe the Constructicons with to see themselves repaired well after the next battle. A worthwhile effort, since there was _always_ another battle.

"He's out." Skywarp blurted suddenly.

Thundercracker tensed in spite of himself. The whole point of coming down here now had been to distract himself from what was probably going on up in Megatron's command room, but now the worry was back in full force.

"And?"

"He came out on his own pedes. Was heading back to recharge last I saw him. Pretty sure he made it, too: Soundwave was in a meeting with Megatron and Astrotrain."

Soundwave was usually the worst threat after one of these sessions. The Communications Officer seemed to delight in finding work to keep Starscream away from his recharge berth when he needed it most. More than once, he and Skywarp had had to rescue the dazed Air Commander from some inane task before he fell into stasis lock, something that was always risking punishment for themselves if they were caught. At least that would not happen this time.

"What's he need?"

Skywarp shrugged, then hefted the girder a little higher.

"Damage didn't look too bad this time. Self-repair'll probably sort it out, I think. Dents and gouges mostly, but there was a bit of energon on his wing. His equilibrium's shot, but I guess it'll come right after some charge time."

Once, Thundercracker mused, he would have gone rushing back to their quarters at that description, horrified by the injuries and demanding an explanation. No longer. He had learned that it was better not to interfere, and the explanation was nothing he needed to ever hear again; hearing it the first time had been hard enough.

The physical damage had occurred over vorns, infrequent but not unheard of. But that first time Starscream had had to be carried back to their quarters, trembling with shock, he had been too traumatised to lie to them when they had begged for an explanation for why he refused to go to a medic: Megatron was forcing a one-way interfacing on him. He did not use those words, but that was the heart of it. Of course, there were programs and defences and firewalls which prevented any such thing ever happening, but Starscream was expected to override those so that Megatron could take his pleasure as he wished. And for some reason that he was not willing to share, Starscream had complied.

It was a torture that no Autobot prisoner had ever suffered. Even reprogramming and rewiring would not do it: the only way to keep those defences at bay was for the mech involved to choose to override his own systems. Mutual connection into the other's interface port would prolong it so long as it was pleasurable, but normally the connection would break automatically if either side were uncomfortable. What Megatron was asking was on the absolute edge of any mech's control, and beyond most.

On the surface, Thundercracker could almost understand. This was something that Starscream could offer Megatron that no-one else could or would. But what had made him attempt it in the first place? What did he get in return that was worth the repeated violations? And why did Megatron keep getting more violent with it? One of these orns, the damage was going to be irreparable, and then what?

"Mission coming up?" he asked, trying to change the subject as he continued to sift through the crushed components under the girder.

He thought he had seen something valuable here when he had been down here a few orns earlier, but now he could not see it. Perhaps Scavenger had already taken it?

"Not yet. Not that I heard."

"We need more energon."

Skywarp muttered something that included Starscream's name, but Thundercracker had stopped listening, spotting what he was after.

"A converter cell! Perfect!"

Grinning at his wingmate, he held up the item. This would buy them both full overhauls if they needed them, and in the meantime would help them convert just a little more raw material into energon that they could use. Worth a beating if they were caught, but a matter of survival as things were now. Yes, today was turning out quite well after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Warning: the abuse continues

Disclaimer: they're not mine, I make no financial profit

* * *

Everything hurt when he came online and he tried to go straight back into recharge to avoid the pain.

It did not work, and he sighed but unplugged the charging cable without protest. With their almost constant supply shortages, their recharge berths were now allocated only a certain amount of energy, and he had used his quota. His private agreement with Megatron earned his Seekers an extra four percent over anyone else on the base, but it was still minimal and no-one ever thanked him for it. Not that he wanted their thanks, he reminded himself, because then they would know what he was doing, but sometimes he wondered if it were all worth it. That way lay madness, though, so he stopped considering it.

Easing himself out of the alcove carefully so as to avoid scraping his aching wings, he looked cautiously around the small room. His trinemates were both out, probably avoiding him. A good idea, too, because he was always in a foul mood after these sessions; pain, frustration and humiliation had that effect on him. Funny, that.

Examining the patches in a mirror that he had installed just for this purpose, he scowled.

Soundwave was a perfectly competent mechanic, but on Starscream he loved to use amateur patches which would leave scars. Jealousy, Starscream knew, and laughed bitterly. The crazy glitch was so besotted with Megatron that he was desperate even for this kind of touch and yet he would never have it. Megatron knew of the host's infatuation and wasn't interested in the least, particularly since he already had what he wanted and love had nothing to do with it on either side. It had certainly never been that way for Starscream: this was a business transaction, nothing more.

He began peeling the patches away, peering at the damage beneath. It would all heal well enough, even the wing joint. Megatron knew better than to do any real harm to his Air Commander's wings: that mistake had been made only once, and had led to huge losses on the battle field and Megatron himself being put at risk. The memory of how close he had come to losing flight altogether made Starscream shudder, but it had been worth it; these orns, Megatron was more careful. He knew the cost if Starscream was not available for a mission.

Releasing the covers over his spark chamber, he examined his interface port with a clinical optic. A little scorched, but his self-repair was handling that. On the whole, today's session had done remarkably little damage. A shame the timing had been so poor, interrupting the first truly restful time Starscream had enjoyed with his trinemates since before the crash onto this miserable organic planet, but complaining about it would only have endangered them.

The gun-mech was incurably paranoid about Starscream cheating on him. The fact that he could retain that jealousy and still take a _Seeker_ for his pleasure showed how arrogant he was, but Starscream had always indulged him because it got him what he wanted: power. For centuries, any mech who so much as glanced at the Air Commander the wrong way got slagged in the goriest ways imaginable, and that had had a certain kind of appeal, but of course it also had a lasting effect. _No-one_ looked anymore. Even his own trinemates had given up. Occasionally their lack of interest stung, but he never let himself dwell on it because it was better this way. He was not entirely sure he could physically enjoy such a relationship anymore after so many vorns of this abuse, and they knew him too well to be fooled.

Tired of his meandering thoughts he turned away from the mirror sharply, but stumbled as his left knee gave out beneath him. Swearing loudly, he steadied himself against the wall and shuffled awkwardly over to the one chair in the room. There was no way he could go out like this. He needed at least another groon in recharge and a good dose of energon to give his self-repair systems something solid to work with. Neither were currently possible, though, so he dragged the chair clumsily over to the small terminal in the corner.

If he was not able to rest, he should at least get some work done.

* * *

Skywarp's silent count reached four hundred and he started to rise, but Thundercracker caught his arm and pulled him down again.

"A little longer."

Skywarp frowned but did not pull away.

"What if he's collapsed on the floor bleeding himself into stasis lock?"

"It's only happened once, and that was a long time ago. Besides, you said he was on his feet."

Waiting was always the hardest part, but it was particularly necessary this time. If Megatron knew that Starscream had been alone with them earlier, or even just suspected it, and then caught them sneaking back to him... the consequences would be both painful and deadly. So they had to stay visible and nonchalant, as though there was nothing going on at all.

Not an easy thing to manage when most of the Decepticons were still out enjoying the pleasant weather and they could not bring themselves to leave the base.

It was a madness he had had all too long to accustom himself to, this pretence that Starscream meant nothing to him. Seekers were _always_ concerned for their trine, whether or not they were interfacing together. They were linked in much the same way as gestalts, and similarly to gestalts that connection gave them greater effectiveness in battle, but that was not the only effect. There was an inevitable sensitivity to each other, one that could not be denied and yet it was also one that he and Thundercracker were constantly forced to pretend did not exist.

"Alright." Thundercracker gave in abruptly as Ravage wandered out of the room, leaving them alone. "Go and slip him that energon. But come straight back."

Skywarp grinned in relief and warped out of the room without wasting a click. It took was simple enough to get to their quarters safely from the rec room, and he took care to position himself within his own recharge alcove on arrival since there was no telling where in the room Starscream would be. Sure enough, Starscream was no longer in recharge but instead was slumped in the chair at their shared workstation.

He toook a click to analyse his trinemate critically and was reassured by what he saw: Starscream was tired and sore but not badly injured. Not curled in a keening ball of agony, not offline and bleeding in a heap. Crouching, he unsubspaced the two cubes he had brought and set them quietly down on the floor. Best not to disturb him now. But before he could straighten again, the wingleader had turned to glare at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just bringing you some energon." Skywarp said defensively.

"So now I'm such an invalid I can't be left to retrieve my own ration?" Starscream railed. "Meanwhile my two wingmates are stupidly shorting themselves so they'll drop out of the air on the next raid..."

Skywarp teleported away, and another jump later was settling back in his chair opposite Thundercracker who was setting up another dice game.

"So?"

Skywarp shrugged.

"Just the usual. He's fine."

"Told you."

But Skywarp saw Thundercracker relax at the reassurance, and then the blue jet rose, game abandoned.

"Want to go back out for some sun?"

"Race you to the lift."

* * *

Three orns later, Thundercracker perched on the clifftop, hidden by the looming boulders around him. He had been assigned to keep watch for Autobots, but the need for that role was almost over and there had been no sign. That was not all that uncommon for these quick raids, actually. Unlike on the official missions where no watch was ever set and was _always_ needed.

Seeing the anticipated signal, he waited until everyone was in the air before following a couple of lengths behind the last of them. A few of the human ground-based military fired on them as they left but those were minimal annoyances only, barely worth their attention. Ramjet must have taken a shot, because he twisted and banked for a strafing run, but Thundercracker heard Starscream order him back into formation; an order that got obeyed instantly. In spite of the fact that none of the others liked their Air Commander, they were all compliant on these raids: disobedience only led to confiscation and redistribution of their portion of the haul.

These raids were not sanctioned attacks. The energon collected was only a fraction of that taken in one of the full missions, and none of it ever made it into the main supply vault. In fact, as far as anyone could make out it was most likely that Megatron had no idea they occurred at all: they were purely Starscream's work, and the only ploy he had tried since arriving on this planet which had gathered him some small part of the respect he used to hold on Cybertron.

The problem was that Megatron was fixated on replenishing their home planet. That was a goal none of them begrudged in principle, but their supplies were so erratic it sometimes meant orns of starvation between successful missions since nothing was ever held back to tide them over. When Starscream had suggested the first raid, after the fifth miserable orn of half a cube's rations, everyone had expected it to fail but had been desperate enough for some kind of relief that they had tried it. And to everyone's surprise - perhaps Starscream's, as well - it had succeeded.

Everyone involved got a share, including those whose role it was to distract Megatron while the others went out. That was usually left to Soundwave and the Constructicons, without whose complicity the whole scheme would have failed long ago. A couple of times some of the others had tried to splinter off and complete personal raids, but they had always been caught and severely punished. These were the only ones that worked consistently, so when Starscream passed the signal everyone shut up and listened and obeyed.

Picking up speed now that they were well on their way home, Thundercracker caught up to his wingmates. The red and white Seeker was flying as beautifully as always, no sign of discomfort from his injuries of a few orns before. Here he was in his element: in the lead, not arguing with Megatron or being laughed at by the others. Here and now he was respected, a glimpse of the mech he had been at the start of the war. Back then Thundercracker had thought the conflict must end swiftly, after all how could the Decepticons lose with a mech such as Starscream on their side. So naive, he had been.

~Formation!~ Starscream snapped at him, breaking him from his thoughts and he quickly moved back into position.

Yes, Starscream was powerful here and now. Beautiful, as he had always been. But it would not last. Even as they approached the Nemesis he would begin to hide within this shell of being subordinate and untrusted.

All the more reason to enjoy these moments while they lasted.

* * *

"Down."

Starscream went readily to his knees, but a rough hand shoved him further until his chin slammed against the floor. Then that same hand caressed his cheek tenderly.

"My brilliant, traitorous Starscream. Did you bring my share?"

It was awkward from this position, with his wings pinning down his arms unless he was willing to extend them and allow Megatron access to the most sensitive panels, but he managed to unsubspace the five cubes and shove them in the warlord's direction.

"Ah good. Yes, very good. And is it good quality, too?"

The same old tiresome games. Sometimes when he delivered Megatron's share, he was permitted to escape without so much as a word of thanks. Other times he was required to submit himself for violation first, but after the very recent session he knew that that would be unlikely this time. Which left these word games that he could never win: it was just a matter of how badly he would lose.

"Of course, Lord Megatron. _I_ would never bring you substandard quality."

"Then you wasted one of my cubes on yourself?"

The question came in a dangerously soft tone.

"Only one, Lord. Just to be sure."

Of course, the one time that he had _not_ done so, Megatron had nearly drowned him, flooding his systems with salt water in vicious punishment for daring to bring him something that _might_ be substandard. It had taken twenty-seven separate surgery sessions with Hook to rid himself of the rust infection that had set in, and he had no intention of ever repeating that experience.

"Are you hungry?"

Another soft question, accompanied by a caress, heralding something nasty to come. Either answer would be wrong, but which would be worse? No way to tell.

"No, Lord."

"I see." Megatron mused. "In that case it will be no hardship for you to fast until I summon you next. And not until you beg me to bring you to overload. Yes, that is good. No more energon until you beg for my touch."

Well aware that his interface port was still damaged from the previous abuse and hating himself for his weakness, he nevertheless tried to avoid the coming famine by offering himself immediately.

"My Lord, I am ready for you now..."

"Not good enough." Megatron grunted, using one foot to shove him flat again. "You're too arrogant, Starscream. And I think I'd like to see you beg properly, not just whine. Now get up and get out of my sight. And Starscream - if I suspect you've broken your fast before you come to me, you _will_ regret it."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Warning: the abuse continues. Very dubious consent at the end of the chapter - read with care.

Disclaimer: they're not mine, I make no financial profit

* * *

Skywarp flinched as something clattered against the wall just behind him and scrubbed harder at the wall panel, desperate not to draw attention to himself.

Starscream was in one of the foulest moods he had been in for vorns and had become quite vicious over the past three orns since the last successful raid. Whatever was going on, Megatron was clearly at the heart of it, frequently found to be lingering around wherever Starscream was, watching in amusement and sipping at a now ever-present cube of energon. Had he figured out about the raids?

A small body slammed into the floor just in front of him - Frenzy, clipped by fresh laser fire. Usually Skywarp would be happy enough to see the irritating casetticon get fried, but all he had done today was offer Starscream some of his own energon ration as a peace offering. That offer had led to the most impressive tantrum so far, and so far the cassetticon had lost two limbs and most of his back panel. He now appeared to be offline, but whether that would convince the infuriated Starscream to stop or whether it would infuriate him more still remained to be seen.

Sudden pain in his shoulder made him realise that he had stopped working while he looked over Frenzy and Starscream had gotten him with a shockstick.

"Who told you to stop! Double-shift, no break! All of you!"

"Aw come on..." Blitzwing began to groan.

Starscream moved so fast that Skywarp wondered if he had learned to teleport. One moment he was looming over the black Seeker and downed cassetticon, the next he had Blitzwing in a chokehold and one laser, fully charged, pressed firmly to the triplechanger's chestplate. Skywarp nearly scoffed at the bluff: surely he would not actually fire that close to the other's spark? Then he saw the look on his trinemate's face and reassessed. Given his current mood there was no telling what he would or would not do, and even Blitzwing seemed to recognise that.

For a terrible, silent moment everyone held still rather than be responsible for Starscream's next move. And then a voice spoke up.

"Dear me, Starscream. Shouldn't you find somewhere more private for your liasons?"

Starscream flung Blitzwing away from himself, beginning to babble some explanation, but Megatron cut him off.

"Well, that's none of my concern, I suppose. I _do_ approve of this cleaning regime you've implemented, though. You _are_ going to see that the whole ship is done?"

The whole ship? Skywarp nearly moaned as he thought of how large the _Nemesis_ was, even wih some parts inaccessible from the crash. _Nearly_ moaned, but didn't. He was not suicidal.

"Well of course." Starscream said after a moment, clearly feeling he was being slighted. "That is just as I planned."

"Very well. Report to me when it's done."

For some reason, that made Starscream squawk as if Megatron had just asked him to do it all himself.

"_After_!"

Megatron had taken a drink of energon, and now looked at Starscream curiously.

"Of course. What point is there reporting before the task is complete?"

"But... it'll take orns!" Starscream gasped.

"You have plenty of assistance." Megatron waved a hand. "And I'm sure you can find others if you look."

"Yes, but..." Starscream began desperately, then cut himself off with an effort and turned away. "Get back to work!"

Skywarp ducked his head and began scrubbing once more. The only thing more dangerous than an angry Megatron was an amused one, and whatever Starscream had gotten himself into this time Skywarp just wanted out of it.

* * *

Thundercracker crept down the sparkly-clean corridors, wondering vaguely if they had shone this much even when they were first installed.

Everyone was exhausted since everyone had been involved, and as predicted it had taken orns. Four, so far. If it had been Starscream's idea alone he would have been long-since abandoned to it, but Megatron seemed to expect everyone to pitch in as required. Including Soundwave, much to the Communications Officer's shock when he went to complain.

For his part, Starscream had been working feverishly, alternating between railing at slackers and doing the work himself. Mixmaster had come up with some formula which made the work easier, but no-one could dispute that Starscream had worked twice as hard as anyone else, taking few breaks, ignoring the damage the caustic fluids were doing to his paintjob, desperate to get the job finished.

Someone had started a joke that Starscream was so keen to make his report because he and Megatron were lovers and the warlord was withholding his favours. They kept the jokes quiet - Megatron would not be amused, and Starscream was just as likely to slag anyone who suggested such a thing to his face with the mood he was in - but the rumour spread. If they knew the truth they would find it less amusing, Thundercracker thought angrily, then just as quickly conceded that some of them were sick enough that they would be amused by the thought of Starscream being raped. Especially after this pit of a work detail.

Turning a corner, he finally found his wingmate working alone in the final section. A joor ago Megatron had dismissed everyone else, telling them to recharge, but Starscream had insisted on continuing even though he was clearly exhausted. Thundercracker had deliberately set an internal alarm to wake him when he had used two-thirds of his allotted recharge power, saving the remaining third for his team leader. Starscream was on the brink of collapse and a single allowance of recharge, as measly as it was these orns, was not going to be enough to revive him. He had not been willing to rest when spoken to in front of everyone else, but perhaps now that he was alone he could be convinced to at least take a short nap?

"Starscream?"

The battered Seeker was a sorry sight, wings drooping, covered in scrapes and painfully raw patches of bare metal where acid and other cleaning fluids had eaten away at his paint. He had been almost doubled over, but now he straightened, his optics flickering back online. Had he been working with them switched off? Thundercracker wondered.

"Who...? Oh. What do you want?"

"You need a break. Why don't you...?"

"No." Starscream groaned, turning back to his work. "Have to finish this."

Reluctantly, Thundercracker moved forward and surveyed what remained to be done. There was not actually that much, really. No more than a couple of breems with Mixmaster's clever formula. But he was thoroughly sick of cleaning walls and he did not want to volunteer.

"Does it really matter how fast it gets done?"

Starscream gave no answer, and Thundercracker watched him helplessly for a few clicks before unsubspacing the cube he had held back from his last meal.

"At least eat something. You can't've eaten in joors."

"N-not hungry." Starscream stuttered.

"Don't be stupid." Thundercracker growled at him. "We're all hungry. Always. There's never enough to go around."

"Then eat it yourself and stop complaining."

"You're going to collapse if you don't give yourself a break! Why are you _doing_ this?"

"To prove his loyalty to me." Megatron's voice made him jump in surprise and he quickly bowed and pressed himself up against one of the walls so as not to block his path.

"Lord Megatron!"

"Can it not be said that I have _complete_ control over my troops?" Megatron asked, walking slowly up to them. "Here, I have my Air Commander on his hands and knees scrubbing the decks of his own volition, refusing rest and sustenance so that he can complete the task more quickly. Give me that cube, Thundercracker, and watch."

He did so quickly, fully expecting some casual swat or other attack, but Megatron simply took it and stepped over to Starscream.

"Do you want this?"

"No." the answer was rasped.

"Are you sure? Your trinemate seems rather worried for your health. Don't you want to reassure him?"

"I don't want it."

"Of course, he _should_ be worried, shouldn't he?" Megatron purred, broaching the cube and sipping at it. "Just how long _has_ it been since you last fuelled, Starscream?"

Starscream stubbornly continued scrubbing, not answering, and suddenly Megatron kicked him, sending him sprawling.

"I asked you a question. How long?"

"S-seven orns!" Starscream hissed, struggling to regain his balance in the slippery fluids on the floor. "As you well know!"

Seven _orns_! Thundercracker stared at him in dismay. He must be running on fumes now. Even if he had consumed his entire portion of the raid before starting this fast he would be in trouble, but it was unlikely that he had. He preferred to store it up in case of shortages. How was he still online?

"Seven orns." Megatron mused. "I do wonder just how much longer you can hold out, then? But of course, that's why you won't go and recharge, isn't it? If you go offline right now..."

If he went offline, his systems would refuse to come back online until he had some fuel, Thundercracker finished the statement queasily as Starscream cut him off.

"_I_ will not be the one to fail here, Megatron." he snarled, finally gaining his feet. "You will not beat me so easily."

Megatron peered at him for a moment, then shook his head.

"I fear the lack of energon is going to your memory core, Starscream. This was never a competition. You could have come to me and asked for leniency earlier."

Starscream spluttered incoherently, then yelped and flinched away as Megatron offered the cube again.

"No?" Megatron asked, openly amused. "Ah well. Perhaps then it's time you made your report."

The red and white Seeker tottered a little.

"N-now?"

"Yes. Now. I shall see you in my office. Your trinemate will no doubt complete the remaining work before I do my official inspection."

With that he swept off, and Thundercracker hurried forward to catch Starscream before he collapsed where he stood.

"Seven orns!" he whispered. "Are you mad? You could've _killed_ yourself!"

"And who would've mourned me then?" Starscream asked tiredly, then shoved Thundercracker away before he could answer. "Don't be stupid. You two hate me just as much as the rest of them, you just got stuck with being trined with me."

"That's not..." Thundercracker began.

"Shut up and just make sure you get this done." Starscream interrupted, staggering up the hall. "And get Skywarp to help you, I don't want to see him when I get back to rest. You'd both be better off without me."

Thundercracker watched him take two steps and pause. A third step, unsteadily. Then he collapsed in a heap.

* * *

It was a sign of how many systems he had shut down that he did not even notice that he had reached the office already, and worse, that Megatron was not alone. Knowing what was coming, he tried to restart his full sensor network - Megatron would not be pleased if his touches did not garner any responses - and then realised he could feel a hand on his arm. Before he could react to that, he belatedly noticed a conversation which was at least halfway through.

"...don't like this. He needs a full transfusion."

"Later. You may have him for that in a groon's time. This will hold him until then?"

When had he lain down? For that matter, where was he? This was not Megatron's office after all, it was... Hook's research room? How had he gotten down here? His optics finally came fully online and he saw Hook and Megatron standing nearby.

"Unlikely." Hook responded grudgingly. "Four breems, at most. After that, it's risky."

"Very well, four breems will have to do." Megatron snapped impatiently. "Now get out."

He was connected to an energon injector, he realised fuzzily, and felt a tinge of worry enter his thoughts. Wasn't there some reason he was not supposed to be having any energon?

"About time you came back online." Megatron huffed. "Could you not at least have taken the energon cube I offered if you were truly so low on energy?"

Starscream blinked up at him, unable to come up with a response to that.

"How'd I get here?" he slurred.

Megatron scowled.

"Your trinemates carried you here. _Before_, I might add, informing me that you had collapsed. I will have to have you punish them, obviously."

"Obviously." Starscream echoed blankly, not taking that in at all as his memory latched on to his last task. "Did I finish the scrubbing?"

"Practically." Megatron snorted, his hand doing something to Starscream's chest. "It would have been much more fun if you had cheated."

"You set the rules." Starscream mumbled, the sudden rush of energon making him dizzy and so he offlined his optics again. "In front of everyone. Had to do it, then."

"You and your pride. One orn it will kill you, my little Seeker."

"Hasn't ye...ah!"

He came fully awake with a start as he felt strong fingers prising at his spark chamber.

"Open up." Megatron grunted. "I've been five orns for this and I'm not waiting any longer."

Frantically he tried to override his automatic defenses, but he was too slow and they kept resetting themselves. Then Megatron cuffed him around the head for holding out and it knocked his equilibrium entirely offline.

"W-wait." he begged. "Please. I j-just need a m-moment."

"You're telling _me_ to wait?" Megatron hissed at him. "How dare you!"

Dredging up strength he was not entirely sure he had, he put all of his concentration into releasing the locks on the cover over his interface port and sobbed helplessly in relief when he heard it open.

"Better."

His whole body jolted with the first contact, and he was vaguely aware he was keening, but he kept his attention on that port. He had to keep it open. Something popped in his head but he ignored it. His vocaliser shorted out and he ignored that too. And then the connection was broken, and he felt Megatron leaning over him.

"You are mine, Starscream. You don't even get to _die_ without my permission. Do you understand? Answer me!"

But he could not. And then it all went dark again.

* * *

A/N: this is as dark as it gets, I swear.


	4. Chapter 4

Warning: actually just a bit of fallout, this chapter has no new abuse :)

A/N: Surprise! Yes, I'm posting early - couldn't be avoided, but I'll assume no-one's complaining ^_^

Disclaimer: they're not mine, I make no financial profit

* * *

Skywarp looked up as the door opened, then back down again when he saw it was just Scavenger. It was nearly a full orn now since Thundercracker had woken him, frantically demanding that Skywarp grab the converter cell he had found and meet him down at Hook's office urgently. The Constructicon was already willing to help - Megatron would not like his favourite punching bag to die of neglect - but the cell had ensured that the job would be done with proper anaesthesia and painblockers. Not that it was initially a concern, since Starscream had worn himself down so far that none of his physical sensors were functioning correctly.

Then, just as he had started to respond to the emergency energon boost Hook had given him - a temporary fix at best - Megatron had arrived and sent them out. He was only in there for a breem, but when Hook returned to see what had happened he re-emerged with a furious look on his faceplates and summoned his gestalt mates then locked the door.

When it became clear that there was not going to be any quick answer to what was going on, Skywarp had reluctantly followed Thundercracker to complete the cleaning work that they had been unfairly assigned. Yet even when that was done, they could still not enter the repair bay and there was no news. So they had done their shifts, and taken turns recharging while the other sat guard. Occasionally Long Haul or Scavenger would emerge to find parts, but neither had any news they were willing to share.

This time, though, Scavenger stopped in front of him.

"You can go in now, if you want."

The offer caught him by surprise, but Thundercracker was immediately on his feet.

"We can take him home?"

Scavenger shrugged.

"Better ask Hook first. All I got told was to let you in."

Skywarp rose and the two of them went in together, moving cautiously. Inside, the other Constructicons were tidying up after what must have been intensive surgery. Starscream was laid out on one of the repair benches, still offline, hooked up to several lines of fluid of varying colours. Before they could go to him, though, Hook spotted them.

"There you are." he grunted, wiping his hands with a cloth. "Still waiting outside, huh? Didn't expect it with _him_."

"He's trine." Skywarp blurted, and Hook nodded grudgingly.

"True. Well then, you better tell him never to do anything so slagging stupid again. We had to extract, clean out and reinstall most of his internals, everything'd seized up from lack of energon. His primary systems were actually running on coolant. Looks like he'd been drinking it, stupid slagger."

"We can take him home, then?" Thundercracker asked.

"Not yet. He needs about four joors recharge time and he isn't gonna get that back on those timelock berths. Leave him here. We'll keep him offline til he's better charged, then we'll call you."

Skywarp shifted uneasily.

"Can we stay?"

Hook shook his head, then paused and motioned them through to his office and shut the door.

"He's just going to rest. No-one's going to get to him while he's here."

"There're plenty angry at him right now." Thundercracker warned. "I'm surprised _you're_ not."

Hook shrugged.

"He's an easier target than Megatron, but only when I don't have to patch him up. Besides, even Crusher thought this was a bit sick, so don't worry - he's safe here."

"Except from Megatron." Skywarp mumbled.

"No." Hook frowned. "Even from him, right now. So long as you two don't go blabbing that he's functional again, I can even keep Lord Megatron away from him. He already got what he wanted, anyway."

The last was only muttered, but Skywarp looked up in startlement.

"You mean he...!"

Thundercracker kicked him viciously.

"Shut up." he growled. "And come on. We're due on duty in three breems - lets see if we can scrounge up some energon first. Thanks, Hook."

Skywarp held his silence until they were out in the corridor, then pulled away.

"He _knows_!"

"Of course he knows!" Thundercracker hissed back. "You think he wouldn't've noticed when he repaired him?"

"But..."

"But what? There's nothing _he_ can do. Except now he knows that _we_ know. Which he's not supposed to. Don't you _ever_ think before you talk?"

* * *

As predicted, most of the Decepticon contingent was intensely unhappy with the work they had been forced to do. The news that the Air Commander had required a full orn's surgery had garnered only sour comments that it was not enough, and Thundercracker suspected that the only thing saving him and Skywarp from retaliation was the fact that they had been pushed harder than anyone and everyone had seen it. It seemed that Hook's offer was probably the only thing that saved Starscream from being back down there within a joor, too, since no-one would dare enter the Constructicon lab without permission, and certainly never to start trouble.

So, Starscream got to fully charge - something Thundercracker himself was very envious of - and then was escorted back to his quarters by the gestalt team who made loud threats about what they would do to anyone who put him back in their care in the next orn. After that he would be on his own, but by that stage he would not need their protection.

Skywarp had spent most of a groon re-painting him while Thundercracker briefed him on the upcoming mission to a power generation plant near the Autobot base. And both of them had ignored how he had trembled and keened while they worked and talked. They had seen this before - the emotional toll of the abuse he suffered could not always be kept hidden, and it was best that he got over it before he went back out in public. He had finally dropped back into an exhausted recharge, and Skywarp had gone to collect his energon ration, and when he returned Thundercracker had had to go on duty in the command centre. He hated leaving them alone, but that was the way it was. The worst was over now, anyway, so long as there was no fallout with the Constructicons.

Why had the medic had to tell Skywarp what Megatron had done? It had been obvious enough to Thundercracker when he had seen Hook's expression, but Skywarp had thought Starscream too ill. Did he not understand that Megatron did not care? That Megatron would probably find it thrilling if Starscream were to actually die while he was raping him? It was not the first time Thundercracker had contemplated such dark thoughts, but he knew his trinemate was still remarkably unimaginative. It was one of the things that stopped Skywarp from doing something really stupid like confronting Megatron over all of this. Him knowing more detail would not help any of them.

"What?" Megatron barked suddenly, drawing Thundercracker's attention.

Hook was frowning at the gunmech.

"I am giving you my medical opinion. Now if you want to risk him falling out of the sky on the way out there, that's up to you."

"You told me he was fixed!" Megatron bellowed.

Hook, remarkably, did not even flinch.

"Repaired, yes. Recovered, no. He needs at least another orn for that."

"Bah. Ridiculous."

"If you say so, Lord Megatron."

"Thundercracker!" Megatron snapped. "Go and get Starscream and bring him here _now_!"

Worried both by Megatron's tone and Hook's warnings, Thundercracker hurried back to his quarters where he found Skywarp putting away his paints, and Starscream still offline though the charge from the cable had long since ceased.

"What's up, TC?"

"Megatron wants him. Now."

Skywarp looked up anxiously.

"Now? But... it's too soon..."

Thundercracker shook his head, stepping forward and tapping at Starscream's wrist gently.

"Star? Time to wake up."

In a nanoclick, Starscream went from offline to fully online with weapons charging, and Thundercracker backed off.

He knew from long experience that if he had touched anywhere else, the reaction would have been more violent - this was their agreed and practiced technique. Even so, Starscream never trusted that it would definitely be them and not someone else who had learned the trick. Seeing only him and Skywarp, the wing leader just sighed and powered down his lasers.

"Haven't I just been online?" he whined. "And weren't you going on duty?"

"Megatron wants you."

Starscream did not react for a couple of clicks, then straightened.

"Fine."

"We're coming too." Skywarp said abruptly.

Thundercracker expected him to argue, but he simply looked at them and nodded.

"Fine." he repeated. "Lets go."

* * *

Megatron wanted him.

Well, that much was obvious from the number of times the warlord had assaulted and violated him, but was that what he wanted this time? Or was this just preparation for that mission that Thundercracker had been blathering about? Or was it something else entirely? Whatever it was, he hoped he could hold out for however long was needed. His entire body ached, and the energon he had drunk was sloshing about unpleasantly in his tank. A bad batch? No. Skywarp would have been expecting someone to try that - he would have tested it first.

His trinemates might believe he had no idea how unpopular he currently was, but that was only because they let his outer facade fool them. He knew exactly how dangerous it was for him to be out on his own right now, and while he had wanted to do this as a show of strength he knew it was too early for that. So. An escort was just fine. And who better than his own trinemates, who may not care for him but who had a vested interest in keeping him alive.

Drawing his wings up tightly, he strode along the corridors - the very _clean_ corridors, he noted in bemusement - looking neither left nor right and let them follow behind him. Motormaster stepped into his path, clearly intending to block the way, but Starscream merely snorted derisively and flared his wings as though he were about to use his null ray. The Stunticon fell back a step into a defensive position, and Starscream simply walked around him.

By the time he reached the command centre, he could hear at least a dozen sets of steps behind him, probably more. He did not bother to turn, but he knew he had an audience. The question was, would Megatron permit the audience to remain - in which case it was work-related - or would he be separated from them and taken into privacy for matters that he did not want to think about? Either was dangerous, and he almost burst out giggling. Perhaps he was insane after all? Megatron in front, an infuriated Decepticon army behind, and he had hoped he had completely cornered himself?

"So, Starscream." Megatron rumbled, looking up from where he was talking to Soundwave. "There you are. I've been waiting."

"Well _do_ forgive me." he huffed, feeling a strange sensation in his tank when he spoke but electing to ignore it. "I only worked myself to near deactivation on _your_ orders. Next time I'll just disobey, shall I?"

He was quite pleased with the twist he had gotten out of that, but the feeling in his tank was getting worse and robbing him of his pleasure. Just what was wrong with him?

"A bit of menial work too much for you, hmm?" Megatron sneered. "Well then, a good thing that I have a mission for you next or I imagine you would simply fade away like..."

"W-wait!" Starscream yelped, staggering over to a chair, grabbing at it to balance himself.

What the slag was wrong with him? He heard someone say something, but then his tank purged itself and left him shaking weakly. Immediately Skywarp and Thundercracker were there supporting him, and then he heard Hook talking.

"You see? I told you he was not ready."

"Oh fine." Megatron snapped. "Get him back to quarters. I don't want to see him again until he's functional. Soundwave, you can take these two with you as support - go and get the parts you need and be quick about it. The rest of you, get to the surface, we've got a mission to complete. Go!"

Starscream raised his head dazedly. What had just happened?

"That worked better than I expected." Hook muttered as everyone else left the room. "Your timing's exquisate, Starscream."

"W-what?"

"I knew your idiot trinemates would try to charge you up too fast and give you high-grade on top of all that coolant you drank. Of course you'd purge. Never thought you'd do it right in front of Megatron, though."

"Y-you... used me..." Starscream stammered, then lurched as another wave of nausea hit him and he lost another quart of half-processed energon.

"Well, that makes us even." Hook shrugged. "Scrapper didn't want to lose half our team to Soundwave's little scavenging mission, and that was your fault anyway."

"What?"

"Frenzy's still in pieces after what you did to him the other orn. Megatron wanted to send Scavenger and Long Haul with him to find replacement parts on Cybertron - he won't let us manufacture them, oh no, the stupid slagger - but we're not going to be split up like that during a sortie. We're going to attack the _Ark_, confuse the Autobots a bit so they won't send so many mechs to defend the power plant so that Megatron can _finally_ have a decisive win and will stop beating _you_ into scrap so that _my_ team can have a break and _everyone_'ll be happy."

"And you're telling me all this because...?" Starscream asked weakly.

"Because _you're_ going to tell me how to do the attack on the _Ark_ so my team walks away without too many hits."

Starscream snorted.

"Form Devastator."

"Funny. Come on - everyone knows you're the best tactician here. Not that that's saying much."

Starscream swayed, still feeling queasy, then shook his head.

"You're only taking your team? Then form Devastator. _Arrive_ like that. Then they'll think you're just the vanguard and they'll dig in. Their auto-defences are hopeless. All you'll have to do is dodge a few lasers unless you get unlucky and some of the heavy-hitters are there. Of course..." He paused, then smirked. "Of course, if you deliberately time your arrival so it occurs _after_ the Auto-scum head out for the power plant, you'll be left with the weaklings, and it'll still confuse them into sending some back, and you might even walk away without a scratch."

And it would irritate Megatron. Not quite the outcome Hook was after, but then the Constructicon should have considered that when he asked. Just a shame, really, that he could not be there to see it. Now the only piece missing was to ensure that communications were down in the area in question so that Megatron couldn't check in with Devastator. And he knew just how to do it. It would destroy one of their only functional satellites, but all for a good cause. Yes, Megatron was going to regret leaving him alone here.

Assuming he could make it around the base on his own without falling over, at least.

* * *

_Epilogue - one orn later  
_

Starscream sauntered into the planning room, ignoring Soundwave's looming presence and focusing on Megatron.

"You wanted to see me?"

Megatron looked up from where he was looking over schematics for some new device.

"You're functional again."

"Of course."

The warlord stared at him for a moment, then turned back to his schematics.

"Good. Then leave me in peace."

Starscream bit back his frustration at the dismissal and spun on his heel to leave the room.

"Oh, Starscream?"

He stopped but did not turn around.

"Yes, oh _glorious_ leader?"

"Take your trine out for flying practice. I think they could use it."

He stiffened.

"My trine flies better than any other in the universe."

"Then they'll understand the need for practice." Megatron spat back. "Go. And don't come back here until you've gotten some proper practice in. At least an orn."

Starscream hesitated, caught by surprise. These on duty vacations were rare, usually the result of Megatron being particularly pleased with him. The last one had been after he had led the raid that had taken out Prime's third in command, Curveball, nearly a megavorn ago. But this was the first time he had been instructed to take his trinemates with him - in the past he had been expected to go alone.

Drawing himself up, he sneered.

"As you command, _Lord_ Megatron."

Striding out, he smirked. Just like that, things were back to normal.

Everything was under control.

* * *

The end.

A/N: The good news is, this isn't the end of this series, not by a long shot. Bad news is, the next installment isn't anywhere near ready. So there'll be a little gap before we get back here. But never fear, this story is far from being told - too many mechs with too many secrets... Lots more to tell!


End file.
